People form false stereotypes without any kernel of truth

Evidence

Hamilton and Gifford (1976) confirmed Allport’s claim that “It is possible for a stereotype to grow in defiance of all evidence” (1954/1979, p. 189). They demonstrated that people could develop false stereotypes through a process of “illusory correlation” (by mistakenly forming a mental association between two or more relatively infrequent events) without there being even a “kernel” of truth. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1391

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines illusory correlation as the mechanism for groundless stereotype formation.